


this means war. (abandoned)

by orphan_account



Category: X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: Anti-Avengers, Anti-Charles, F/F, F/M, He'll play a very small role and honestly ppl aren't going to be a fan of him, Lots of Pro-Mutant, Multi, There will probably also be some, at some point, if i'm being honest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-19
Updated: 2017-02-04
Packaged: 2018-09-09 20:18:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8910574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Emma, Scott, and Erik following the retirement of Charles Xavier lead mutant kind to a new frontier. The three of them teaming up to protect mutant kind and lead the X-Men in an age of peace with humankind, however things can never go as planned. Humans continue to revolt against mutants without reason; slaughtering them in droves. The X-Men have no choice but to fight back.--- this fic, until further notice, will not be updated. sorry for any inconvenience.





	1. Prologue

“Watch out!” Shouted out a deep Mississippi voice. In response, a young woman with light brown hair tied up into a long ponytail froze in place. A drone ran right through as if she weren’t even there. 

“Thanks Rogue!” Answered the woman, Kitty Pryde, as she turned on her heel to kick the drone in the back. Knocking it clean to the floor and putting it out of commission of the fight. She continued to move. Phasing herself through a spiked wall to see two other mutants. Back to back as they battled a circle of drones. One of them was coloured blue from head to toe, with pointed ears. He stood at the ready, watching the others back. The other, was taller. Having broad shoulders and hair cascading down his shoulders and a long brown trench coat which swept the air with every movement. In his hand, he gripped a bo staff with glowed with a soft purple. However, the most notable feature of the mutant was his black and red eyes. 

“Ready ven you are, Gambit.” Spoke the blue mutant in a thick German accent. 

“Ready in t’ree-” Responded the other; a Cajun accent spilling from his lips. “Two, one!” 

And in a puff of smoke, the blue mutant appeared to have vanished. In a quick movement, the one called Gambit spun around. Knocking each and every drone down with his bo staff. A few of them even popping to pieces because of the energy that moved through them. From the ceiling above, the blue mutant popped back down. 

“Incredible, Nightcrawler.” Kitty told him with a wink. He grinned back at her in return. 

On the other side of the Danger Room three more mutants worked together taking down the final three drones. A short dark haired girl with claws protruding from in between her knuckles jumped forward - swiping them down in one easy blow. A tall blonde well prepared with a sword almost bigger than herself cut one clearly in half as though it were made of butter. And the last mutant, a tall man made of metal punched it out. The simulation around them shut down and the drones vanished into nothing. 

“Well done.” Came a smooth voice over the intercom. The team lined up one-by-one near the door. Kitty being the first in line standing tall over the team she assumed herself to be the unspoken leader of. The door peeled open and stepped in an aging man with a long cape. Erik Lehnsherr, or as many knew him, Magneto. 

“Shadowcat, exceptional as always. Except you must watch your surroundings. You won’t always have Rogue there to save you.” He gave the woman a hard look, but Kitty didn’t falter. Simply giving a nod in response. 

“Gambit.” He carried on. “Fantastic teamwork with Nightcrawler, however,” The however made Gambit frown - pushing a glare towards Erik, who decidedly ignored it. “You need to work on your form. I could have sworn you were about to slip.” 

“T’is one? Slip?” Gambit scoffed. “Please, t’is one never slips.” Gambit insisted, but Erik paid no attention, continuing to move down the line towards Rogue. 

“Rogue.” He paused, looking her up and down carefully. She stared back at him. Her back posed for whatever criticism he was about to dish out. 

“Mystique trained you well.” 

Which, in Rogue’s mind, was worse than any negative comment he could have said. She swallowed thickly. Visibly shaken up by so much as the memory. However, Erik carried on, towards Kurt. To whom, he looked somewhat proud. “Well done, Nightcrawler. Next time, I’d like to see you doing more of the fighting.” He remarked simply before arriving at the Rasputin siblings. 

“Illyana-” Erik began, and the girl stood at attention. It was nearly comical, her standing beside her brother. His height towering over her own, and yet Illyana showed no sign of not being as powerful. In fact, some might say that she was even more powerful than him. “Use your disks more. They’re an extreme asset to you. The sword isn’t everything.” Erik advised, to which she nodded - immediately making note of it. “And Piotr… “ The muscle of the group. What could he really say? “Remember, do not always look out for others. Keep an eye on yourself too.” Naturally, Erik always had something up his sleeve. 

Erik had turned toward the final mutant, Laura Kinney, who was standing tall and ready when- 

“Mr. Lehnsherr,” The familiar voice of Hank McCoy came out over the speakers of the Danger Rooms. All of the mutants standing inside of it looked up to the window hovering one story upward, although none of them could see him very well. “Ms. Frost and Mr. Summers would like to see you in Ms. Frost’s office.” Always the formal tone from Hank, despite the group having formed a tightly knit friendship over the years. 

“I’ll be right there.” He answered, looking over his ragtag team of young mutants. He could talk to Laura later if whatever comment he could conjure up held some necessities. “You are all dismissed.” 

\----- 

 

Parting from the Danger Room, Kitty found herself immediately grasping onto Kurt’s arm as they walked through the halls. “Are we going somevhere?” The blue mutant asked with a small cock of the head. He and Kitty had likely been the closest friends in the group since they formed. 

“Possibly, maybe, I have yet to decide.” Kitty ran off her mouth quickly in thought. “I mean, yes- we are totally going somewhere but whether it means leaving the Mansion or not is the question here. We could totally steal Scott’s car and patrol the mall-” And by patrol, the 19-year-old meant hang out and shop. “Or, or… Hear me out… We go paintballing.” 

That captured the attention of Illyana quickly and she arched a brow, quickening her pace slightly to step up toward the other side of Kitty. “Paintballing, you say?” 

“Yes, I do say paintballing…” She hummed in thought trying to see if that would logistically work with their group at the moment. “Of course, that depends. It’s pretty expensive- how much spending money do you all have?” Kitty questioned, taking a couple of spaces forward and turning around to face her group of friends, taking her paces backward. 

“Not enough for that, Ah can tell you.” Rogue answered with a small laugh. “Spent most a my money last week. Gotta wait for Frost and Summers t’drop the pay.” 

“Moi-aussi.” Remy added, with a dramatic sigh. “Désolé, ma petite. But the mall seems like a much better option.” 

 

“Alright,” Kitty sighed, admittedly a bit disappointed. “To the mall we go. Laura, you drive?” 

\----- 

“Emma, Scott.” Erik greeted, stepping into the office space with a small bow of his head in respect. The two stood tall and stiff. 

“There’s been another riot in the south.” Emma began, firm and without emotion. “Three mutant children were slaughtered - publicly.” 

Erik stood still, unmoving as anger flickered in his eyes. This is exactly what he had feared. This is exactly what Charles Xavier had previously ignored. 

“Covington, Kentucky.” Scott elaborated. “A local anti-mutant group there, Hope for Humanity, has claimed ownership over the attack. Local law enforcement has warrants out for their arrest but…” Arrests don’t stop crimes like that, and all three of them knew that. 

“And what did we plan on doing?” Erik asked, his arms folding as he did his absolute best from going on in a rage about the situation. The very idea, the images constructed by his own mind which were flashing through him were causing his blood to boil. 

“At the moment, we’re going to lay low. Tensions are high and we don’t want to fuel the fire.” Emma explained. “The riot has dispersed. We’re going to send out Hank and Ororo to the scene to represent us as the funeral. Console the parents. Just… Make a quiet appearance.” Emma explained. It was decidedly the best way to handle it. “We might conduct our own investigations into the group after things had simmered down.” She read the look of anger on Erik’s face. “We know this isn’t ideal. We want to fight against this as much as you do. But as far as we’re aware… This is an isolated incident. We don’t want to incite conflict.” 

Emma had yet to find out just how wrong she was.


	2. chapter I - the grey zone.

Things had only gotten worse. 

They had been right, the arrests did nothing to stop the growing rate of anti-mutant crime happening in Kentucky, and it wasn’t long until the law enforcement had their hands full of cases that were out of their control. Hope for Humanity - the name was sour on everyone’s lips - was going to drive the country insane. Congress was siding with Anti-Mutant sentiments, but never slaughtering. Oh no, never slaughtering… Never killing. 

Emma, in a press conference, proudly reminded the country about the Sentinels that had been sent against them time and time again coming from that very government. 

Her words were clouded by the constant echoing screams of humans who had absolutely no experience in the matter. Who had no right to be discussing whether or not these murders were justified. 

“We could just head to Genosha.” Erik spoke. Breaking the silence of the room in which the X-Men had gathered. They sat around an oval shaped table. Emma and Scott at either end while the rest of the X-Team sat along the sides. With the exception of Logan, who opted to stand, leaning with his back against the wall in the corner of the room. “We move the school,” Erik continued as he was met with a continued silence. “We build a psychic barrier -” He looked towards Emma, who simply stared at him without showing any sign of agreeance or disagreeance. “And we protect as many mutants as we possibly can. How many have we lost now?” 

“At least thirty.” Scott answered. The pain was clear in his voice, and Erik was fairly certain that if he would be able to see Scott’s face, his eyes would portray the same. They didn’t even know a solid number. 

“And you expect every mutant on the planet to be willing to pick up and move?” Logan asked, his arms crossed as he looked over the room. Erik was the only one to turn his way. 

“Not every mutant.” Erik conceded. “Naturally, we’ll need to keep some people here and… Some places are doing better than others.” He added. “I’m sure Alpha Flight would be willing to cooperate and take in some mutants if needed. But perhaps evacuating the country would be the best choice. Rather than facing impending genocide.” 

“It would be a challenge,” Hank commented, somehow already beginning to record numbers and plan things out. It was a possibility, after all. “We’d need to rebuild first.” He explained. “Make sure we can house as many mutants as possible and have enough resources to last us some time. We’d also need to contact the parents of all the students here, since I’d assume they’d be the first ones to move.” 

“It’ll be high profile.” Emma commented, leaning forward and resting her elbows on the table. “There will be people against us, trying to stop us.” 

“Then we keep a team here.” Rogue commented. “Plenty a us are willing t’fight. We keep a team here to keep crowds under control and help with the evacuation before we leave ourselves… Or if we stay to keep up the fight. Either way, you’ll easily be able to gather a team willing t’protect.” 

Around the table, Rogue was met with nods of agreement. 

“We’ll do it.” Kitty stated proudly, shifting forward in her seat as though were were about to take a stand. “Our team.” 

“Yeah!” Kurt agreed, enthusiastically. Scott, Emma, and Erik shared a look. One didn’t need to be a telepath to know that they were all in agreement on it; that team was the best they had. 

“Emma, Logan, Storm, Beast-” Scott began, suddenly switching from discussion to commanding mode. “You will be with me in moving the school and evacuating students. It’ll be a team effort over the next few weeks to move everyone over to Utopia and rebuild, something in which we’ll need everyone on, but after that we divide and get things done as quickly and cleanly as possible. If we can, we do this without any casualties. Human or mutant.” A pointed look was given towards Erik. 

“We move as many people as possible as quickly as possible. I’ll be in contact with Jean-Paul shortly and see about us sending mutant refugees to Canada.” 

“For now,” Emma took control of the meeting simply by ringing out her voice. “We break. Erik, take your team to plan your strategy. The rest of us,” She looked towards Henry, Logan and Ororo. “We have work to do.” 

\--- 

Exiting the room, Illyana immediately took to Kitty’s side as the crowd dispersed. Everyone heading off in small pockets of people off in different directions. Everyone speaking quietly amongst themselves and Illyana following suit. “Worst case scenario we shove everyone into Limbo.” But she was far from serious. 

“Because Limbo is always the best place to be.” Kitty replied, and equal amount of sincerity in her voice. “I just wish we didn’t have to hide away. We didn’t have to exile ourselves just to protect our lives. It’s crazy.” 

Illyana nodded, an arm coming around to rest on the brunettes shoulder as they walked together. They passed Laura, Rogue, Remy and Piotr who were taking an elevator to the upper levels of the Mansion - but the two girls stuck together, holding their breath as they passed through a dark puff of smoke left behind by Kurt. 

“I know, Katya.” Illyana conceded with a small sigh. They were all to meet Erik in his office, but the girls were taking their time together. “But our team is the best we have. The best that this country has.” Illyana added with a sense of pride, and even that made Kitty smile. 

“You're right. We’ll be fine. We have to be fine.” 

A pain suddenly struck both girls, the same thought passing through their mind. Jean Grey. She had something similar that day - and both of them remembered it vividly. 

_“It's going to be fine. It has to be fine.” Jean told them all. It was tense. The Shi’ar weren't going to take no for an answer. Either they fought for the Phoenix and keeping Jean alive or…_

_No one wanted to think of the alternative._

_“I can control it.” She assured, but the assurance was more towards Scott. The pure terror was clear on his face. Their wedding was in a week._

_“I can control it.” Jean repeated._

The cosmic flames still felt hot against their skin. Kitty squeezed her eyes shut and turned into the safe grip of Illyana. The Russian girl hushed her quietly and rubbed her back gently. Soft words whispered in Russian calmed her sadness and fears. 

“But she was right,” Illyana commented. “We were fine.” 

\--- 

“Fine--” Scott sighed, hanging up the phone. He rubbed his temples with a mild annoyance. “Jean says we can bring people up - in theory - they'll do their best but there is still plenty of politics in sending over a large group of refugees.” 

“We knew that,” Emma sighed, standing just behind him with a comforting hand on his shoulder. “We knew this wouldn't be easy. Our next move should be contacting customs and seeing what they can do.” 

“And we’ll beg if we have to.” Ororo added. She wasn't sure about Emma and Scott, but she'd be willing to plead. “And, if needed, I could contact T’Challa, and we could move some people out to Wakanda.” It was another option. That was better than nothing. 

“That'd be a good idea. Thank you, Ororo.” Scott was genuine. 

Anything to get as many Mutants out of the country as possible before they had to call it a war. 

\--- 

“So we need a plan of attack is what you're saying?” Laura questioned. Arms crossed and a mild expression of surprise across her features. 

“That's exactly what I'm saying. Optimally, things will go smoothly but… there is the chance that they won't. We need to be ready to fight a war if it comes to that point.” Erik wasn't happy about it. None of them were happy about it. But it was the way it had to be. 

“Alors, we target ‘Ope for ‘Umanity. Take dem down before dey take us down.” Remy shrugged. 

“And we kill them?” Asked Piotr, something about it unsettling to him. 

“And we kill them.” Erik confirmed. “It's a last resort but-” 

“But we have to.” Kitty finished his sentence. Her brows furrowed together. 

“But we have to.” Erik repeated. He was silent for a moment, and the mutant team took that as their signal to leave. All, save for Kitty. She moved towards Erik’s desk and sat across from him. Neither of them spoke immediately. 

“This is too close to home.” Kitty finally spoke, her eyes stuck looking down at the floor. 

“I know.” 

“I just. I don't get what their problem is! When have we done anything but help them!?” 

Erik could name a few times, but those weren't times he was proud of. He decided to ignore that sentiment for the meantime. 

“They’re scared, Ms. Pryde. Just as we are. They don't understand what's different and they target it. They blame unrelated problems on those people and then try to stamp them out.” 

Kitty nodded slowly, glancing up towards him. Her eyes having turned glassy. “I don't understand… how is this okay to them?” 

Erik could only shake his head. “I have no clue what you want me to say.” 

“I don't know either.” Kitty explained, bringing up her hand to wipe her eyes. “I don't know.” 

It was in the silence that followed the unspoken bond between the two deepened. Kitty sat there for a few minutes longer before she stood up silently and parted from the room. 

\---

Senator Kelly rose from his seat. Moving to take the podium at the front of the room. It was dimly lit, but dozens of people sat in neat rows of mismatched folding chairs. Kelly was part of half of the crowd, dressed in a pressed suit and clean shave contrasted with the worn out clothes and tired expressions on half the audience's face. The rest of the audience matched Kelly. 

“Good evening, Hope for Humanity.” He spoke with a bright grin on his face. “As I'm sure you're aware, our movements have gone untraced and we've-” He began to laugh. “We've slaughtered twelve Mutants this week alone.” He was met with a thunderous cheer. “Yes! Yes, be proud of what we’ve achieved! But, save some of that for the climax of this evening.” He commented with a grin. “We have a special guest joining us and I think you'll love it.” 

“For years, mutantkind has terrorized this planet. They've tortured us. They've hurt us. They've scared us. And they've killed us. And now is the time for us to fight back. Now is the time for us to take a stand for what we believe in.” A pause, as he prepared the audience to chant with him. “Death! To! Mutants!” Another cheer followed. 

“Now, now, you're probably wondering about our guest tonight.” Kelly continued. “Well, everyone give it up for Dr. William Stryker!” 

\---

Emma and Scott sat quietly together. Alone in Scott’s office, Emma upon his lap in a tight embrace. Her eyes were shut and her face resting into the crook of his neck as a silence rested between them. His hand rested on her hip, slowly rubbing in circular motions as he looked off into the distance. Passiveness written across his face as he was deep in thought. 

There was a knock on the door which shattered the tranquil moment between the two. Emma shifted, straightening up as she looked toward the door. Her brows furrowing in confusion as she was unable to identify who was on the other side. 

“Come in,” Emma called, her confusion clear in her voice. 

The door opened, and in walked a familiar face, framed with fiery red hair and bright green eyes. Jean Grey.

“Oh, excuse me for interrupting. I was just- I was just going to ask where I fit into all of this?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Super excited to get this chapter out and see what you all think!


	3. chapter II - a flame.

“Madelyne Pryor.” She introduced herself slowly, slightly confused as to why she was receiving such odd looks from Emma and Scott. Both of them appearing as though they had seen a ghost. “I… Is something wrong?” The redhead questioned, her head tilted and a small frown painted across her lips. 

_“Is it Jean?”_ Scott asked Emma, telepathically. 

_“I can't tell. Mental barriers.”_ Emma answered - her brows furrowing together as she looked at the woman, desperately trying to crack through her walls to no avail. 

“No,” Scott finally answered her question. Emma peeled herself off of his lap and stood tall and firm. She was still unable to get a solid read on the woman. “No, you're not interrupting, Ms. Pryor-”

“Maddy, please.” She interrupted. 

“Maddy.” Scott repeated. “Could I ask who let you in?” 

“Oh, I'm not sure the name.” Maddy spoke with a small frown. “She was a student, I believe… She had about the same expression as you two.” 

“Wonder why.” Emma was clearly bitter, and she wasn't going to hide it. This was a careful situation. It could be Jean. It could be Mystique. It could be another telepath tricking them by means of illusion. She didn't know, and that was so infinitely frustrating. Perhaps if she tried Cerebra… 

“Scott, why don't you go get our new guest settled?” Emma asked him. _“I'll connect downstairs, see if the added boost helps me break her down.”_

Scott nodded in agreement, watching as Emma nodded to Maddy and parted from the room. Maddy turned to Scott, smiling awkwardly. “I'm really sorry to turn up uninvited. Just… Something was telling me to come here. Something warm.” She confessed, and Scott didn't care. He gave a slight nod and headed out. “Cmon, I'll get you a room.” 

\--- 

“Jean Grey is not here.” Rogue insisted. The team was hanging around in a living space together. Rogue in an arm chair, and Remy on the ground, his elbow resting on Rogues covered thigh. Laura sat on the couch with Kitty and Illyana who were sitting close together. Kurt hung idly from the ceiling and Piotr occupied another arm chair. 

“Smells like her.” Laura pointed out. 

“Looks like her.” Kurt added. 

“Sounds like her.” Rang out Kitty. 

“But zat does not mean it's ‘er.” Remy insisted with a slight sigh as he looked around the room, idly twirling a card in his other hand. “It cannot be ‘er. We saw what ‘appened zat day.” He reminded, and everyone was silent for a few moments. 

“It would not be the first time that someone came back to life.” Piotr pointed out, and a couple of them nodded. 

“But she doesn't know she's Jean.” Kitty said quietly. Illyana pulled her closer. 

“She doesn't know this place was made for her.” Illyana said quietly. Kitty wiped her own eyes. 

“Katya…” Piotr spoke quietly, looking over at his sister and his ex-girlfriend. It wasn't his place. It hurt, but they were both happy. Kurt looked toward Piotr with a frown. 

“The point is,” Rogue finally began, changing the subject back to the latest house guest. “It doesn't matter who she is or if she is Jean. She's here an’ we still got a job to do an’ a move t’make.” 

“Rogues right.” Laura nodded. “We gotta make a plan.” 

“Destroy all of ‘Ope for ‘Umanity?” Remy asked hopefully. 

“I don't think Cyclops vill allow that.” Kurt frowned. 

“Kurt’s right. Destruction isn’t the way we go.” Kitty spoke with a small sigh, shaking her head slightly. She had opened her mouth, beginning to speak, when Magneto joined their ranks. His expression hard, and clearly annoyed with the circumstance. 

“On the contrary, Kitty.” Erik spoke, slow and careful. Her analyzed each and every one of the students faces. “I believe destruction is the only way we can go.”

\--- 

“Not to question your authority, Erik.” Laura said, buckling herself into the Blackbird. The whole team now changed and ready to take on a fight. “But are you sure this is the best choice we have right now? Going in and killing off a bunch of people?” 

“It’s not the best choice, it’s the only choice.” Erik remarked. “Either we kill them… Or they continue to kill us. It’s your choice.” He remarked. The jet starting up. Nervously, the rest of the team glanced around to one another. It seemed that none of them were entirely sure on what to do, or where they stood. Eventually, Illyana sighed. 

“We’re staying.” She spoke on behalf of the team, and none of them argued as the Blackbird rose into the air - parting from the grounds. 

\--- 

“Magneto took them.” Emma immediately told Scott, letting out a sigh. “He took them out on a murder mission and he didn’t stop to tell us.” 

“Em--” Scott wanted to relax her, but that didn’t seem to be an option at the moment. She pushed him away. 

“Erik takes his team out of the grounds to go and do God knows what, and just before that Jean Grey walked into the office and-” She clutched her head, she was driving a headache onto herself. Scott held her elbow, gently guiding her to sit. Emma reluctantly followed and sat herself down. She breathed out long and slow. 

“Em.” Scott began again, and this time, she let him. “That wasn’t Jean. It… It looked like her, but it didn’t feel like her. I don’t know why she looks exactly like Jean, or how, but she does. And we’re going to have to deal with that. And sure, Cerebra didn't help us but..." Scott shook his head, moving on from the subject. "We’re also going to have to deal with the fact that… Things are like this now. We’re going to have to fight. We’re going to have to go to war. Erik is going to want to protect us, and so are the X-Men.” 

Emma groaned. It felt patronizing for Scott to be talking down to her like this. “You’re so much like Charles.” She scoffed. Scott frowned. 

“And maybe I am. Who’s to say he was wrong?” 

“Oh, I don’t know. Every mutant who died.” She snapped at him. “Every mutant who had to put their life on the line like a soldier and be told that killing them back was wrong. I am not proud of what I did in the Hellfire Club but at least there I actually felt like I was doing something.” The words rushed out of Emma’s mouth before she could even think about them. But they were true. At least when she was off and killing humans off in droves it gave her efforts to protect mutantkind something to show for. Scott, however, wasn’t so happy about that. 

“And when has killing ever got us anywhere, Emma!? When has Magneto’s path gotten us anywhere!?” 

“And when has the path of least resistence done any of us any good! I am tired, Scott. I am tired of our children, our friends, our family, our people being killed off and slaughtered because of something they never asked to be. Aren’t you tired of this constant fighting, of the constant oppression, of the constant bullshit we face day after day!?” 

“Yes, I’m tired, Emma! But killing off all of our enemies isn’t the way to go. It will never be the way to go it--” Scott was cut off by a knock at the door. He scowled, turning towards the shut door and snapping at it- “What!?” 

Henry carefully pushed open the door, a frown on his face. He had heard the tail end of the argument. “Sorry to interrupt it’s just…” He didn’t know how to put it properly. The blue mutant rubbed his face, his expression unmoving. 

“What is it, Henry?” Emma asked him, her voice softer than Scott’s had previously been. 

“It’s… It’s the Phoenix. It’s coming back.”


End file.
